Yeti, Wraith, or SCX10 for crawler newbie?

[malistrais]

I've been lurking in the forums for about a week now, trying to absorb all the knowledge here towards (hopefully) making my first crawler purchase.

Been in the hobby on and off (mostly off recently) for 25-30 years, and think I want to see what this type of RC is all about.

I've pretty much settled on Axial and RTR. Beyond that, I've flitted between a Deadbolt, Wraith, and Yeti. I intend to primarily bash around the yard, but also think I could get into hitting some of the local nature/bike trails. Not sure there's much of an organized crawling scene in my area though.

Here's what I've gathered...

SCX10/Deadbolt -- Great value. Won't need much for costly upgrades if I don't want to go real fast.
Wraith -- Bigger and faster/more agile than Deadbolt? Not as durable out of the box though?
Yeti -- Fast. Looks really fun to bash. Not very durable and would require decent expense to prevent frequent breakage?

I WANT the Yeti just because of the brushless power and how I think it fits my situation. The Wraith seems like a good compromise, but still more of a pure crawler? The Deadbolt looks neat too, and would force me out of my RC comfort zone to try new things (crawling), since I don't know how it would fare as strictly a beat-around-the-yard toy.

With towerhobbies good coupons right now, the Yeti is at 378 shipped, the Wraith Spawn 330 shipped, and the Deadbolt 260 shipped.

I'm open to any and all suggestions.

Thanks!

-Matt

[racinfast002]

Bashing around your yard gets boring quick with scx10. Its super fun on a trail though. I think your on target of getting a wraith or yeti. I'm currently building a wraith, and once I get done with it, I'll be shopping for a yeti. However, I have a short course truck coming, and I may decide I have no need for a yeti.

[sdmf]

The wraith spawn is the best compromise. You can still crawl well with it, has some speed and let's you try something new. The yeti will not crawl well with the independent front suspension, and the non sensored brushless.

[malistrais]

thanks for the responses racinfast002 and sdmf - i was leaning towards the wraith mainly because it seemed like a good compromise. the poison spyder has better looks (imo) and a nicer esc, but i'm reading it doesn't have some nice upgrades the spawn sports - what would it cost (roughly) to bring the poison spyder rtr up to the spawn rtr from that perspective?

thanks again!

[sdmf]

Originally Posted by malistrais

thanks for the responses racinfast002 and sdmf - i was leaning towards the wraith mainly because it seemed like a good compromise. the poison spyder has better looks (imo) and a nicer esc, but i'm reading it doesn't have some nice upgrades the spawn sports - what would it cost (roughly) to bring the poison spyder rtr up to the spawn rtr from that perspective?

thanks again!

I seem to remember someone saying it would be over 150$ to get the PS up to the spawn. I have a PS, I don't have a lot of complaints, I run it brushed so I haven't had any spur issues, or trans issues. I would just get the spawn and run it. If you are into other rcs, then you have the experience and batteries to get going. The AE5 esc isn't as bad as people make it out to be. It has a lipo cutoff, it has a drag brake, it's waterproof. I think you would want to address the servo before the esc, the tactic servo is better than the old axial ones, but you'll want more torque down the road.

Run it till you get bored. That's my say.

[StomperCrawler]

If I were in your shoes (I too am about 25 years deep into RC), I'd grab the Spawn on RPPHobby ($334 after $35 coupon, and they support this website), sell the AE-5 ESC as a new-pull before using it (either here in the Classifieds, or on eBay) and use the funds to help pay for whatever ESC you prefer; FYI there are a few recommended ESC's listed in my sig-linked thread below.

[malistrais]

Thanks for the help folks - ended up ordering a Wraith Spawn RTR from CKRC with their 15% off coupon today. $314.99 shipped - I'm stoked.

[Wehan]

Originally Posted by malistrais

Thanks for the help folks - ended up ordering a Wraith Spawn RTR from CKRC with their 15% off coupon today. $314.99 shipped - I'm stoked.

If (when) you strip the plastic pin drive hubs on the wheels get a set of vanquish products slw hubs (350's) and wraith aluminum hexes. Good to go.

[malistrais]

Thanks Wehan - are these the exact items:

12mm Hex Grey - Vanquish Products
SLW 350 Wheel Hub - Vanquish Products

Or can I get away with the cheaper Axial hexes?

Originally Posted by Wehan

If (when) you strip the plastic pin drive hubs on the wheels get a set of vanquish products slw hubs (350's) and wraith aluminum hexes. Good to go.

[Wehan]

Originally Posted by malistrais

Thanks Wehan - are these the exact items:

12mm Hex Grey - Vanquish Products
SLW 350 Wheel Hub - Vanquish Products

Or can I get away with the cheaper Axial hexes?

Yup, I use the Axial hexes. Thoes hubs and the hardware kit (screws) work great. I had to drill the holes for the screws out with a 7/64 bit.

[malistrais]

really appreciate the help - the pics are great too.

thanks!

Originally Posted by Wehan

Yup, I use the Axial hexes. Thoes hubs and the hardware kit (screws) work great. I had to drill the holes for the screws out with a 7/64 bit.

[Horton1]

I vote spawn.

[ChronicCrawler]

I would get the poison spyder
AE-2 Esc is great, I ran it on 3s for a 8 months with no problems.
Plus you dont get seats with the spawn

[sdmf]

Originally Posted by ChronicCrawler

I would get the poison spyder
AE-2 Esc is great, I ran it on 3s for a 8 months with no problems.
Plus you dont get seats with the spawn

http://www.axialracing.com/products/ax90045

Yes you do get an interior. I wouldn't buy an rtr based only on ESC, as the spawn has many updates which would cost extra on the PS.

[rcntncrawler]

I used to beat my head against the wall, trying to decide which vehicle to get. I had so many preconceived notions about how each vehicle would work and wouldn't work. The reality is, within limits, any of the vehicles you mentioned can be set up to rock crawl, trail crawl, bash, or even race. The group I trail and rock crawl with includes wraiths, SCX10s, RC4WD scale rigs, a yeti and a couple of Twin Hammers. I saw a U4RC race, on youtube, and between the 1.9 and 2.2 classes, almost all of those same vehicles were represented. Bottom line: buy a rig and set it up for the type of driving you want to do now, and when you decide to try a different style of driving, modify it.

[DenisLM]

I almost got a spawn, but ended up with a yeti.. ;)

bashing need more speed.

[malistrais]

got my turnigy 2200 3s batteries and the wraith spawn RTR today. after getting the new connector soldered onto the esc, and one of the batteries charged, i was off.

we've got some really deep snow up here at the moment, so it took me a while to figure out how to tackle things. but after a bit, i was climbing snow hills, etc. it's not a top-end speed burner, but i'm really impressed with it's wheel speed and torque - really fun to drive. so... now that i have my first run outta the way, some questions...

- what kind of run-time should i expect out of the 2200 3s turnigies? i estimate i got about 25-30 minutes...
- the shocks seem rough - ie. not "smooth" action. are all the RTRs like that?
- the single screw system for holding the ESC tray in seems weird - is there a good replacement for that?
- this thing seems really difficult to wrench without completely disassembling it - am i missing something?

overall, i really think i'm going to like this truck. i am already starting to map out all the upgrades i want - lol. thanks again to everyone!

[sdmf]

Originally Posted by malistrais

got my turnigy 2200 3s batteries and the wraith spawn RTR today. after getting the new connector soldered onto the esc, and one of the batteries charged, i was off.

we've got some really deep snow up here at the moment, so it took me a while to figure out how to tackle things. but after a bit, i was climbing snow hills, etc. it's not a top-end speed burner, but i'm really impressed with it's wheel speed and torque - really fun to drive. so... now that i have my first run outta the way, some questions...

- what kind of run-time should i expect out of the 2200 3s turnigies? i estimate i got about 25-30 minutes...
- the shocks seem rough - ie. not "smooth" action. are all the RTRs like that?
- the single screw system for holding the ESC tray in seems weird - is there a good replacement for that?
- this thing seems really difficult to wrench without completely disassembling it - am i missing something?

overall, i really think i'm going to like this truck. i am already starting to map out all the upgrades i want - lol. thanks again to everyone!

Off a 3s 2200, I would think you would get better runtime, but I assume you were WOT alot. The rtr shocks are garbage, you can take them apart, clean off the piston, apply generous amounts of green slime, and they could still leak, but will be smoother. Don't worry about the esc placement until you start moving around the battery and rx box. It can be easy or difficult to work on, depending on what the task at hand is, trans and motor drop with the 4 base screws, then the 8 I believe side screws holding the trans plate in the chassis. This chassis requires a lot of dexterity, although it is not all to difficult to work on, once you get the hang of it.

[StomperCrawler]

Check the plastic pistons for debris left over from beening cut from the parts tree and sand them down.

[malistrais]

thanks for the reply. i ran another pack today, and got exactly 20 minutes of run-time. i'm still on stock gearing, and pretty much full throttle in heavy snow the whole time, so maybe that's about right?

Originally Posted by sdmf

Off a 3s 2200, I would think you would get better runtime, but I assume you were WOT alot.